Highton
(2003) sampled four populations during or prior to 1987, and again in
1993 or later, and could not find animals at three sites (two along the North
Carolina–Tennessee border and one in Grayson-Wythe County, Virginia).
Additional sampling is required to determine whether these data reflect true declines
(perhaps extirpations) or natural population fluctuations.

Gordon et al. (1962)
compared their collection to a collection made by Dunn 44 yr earlier. The
collections were made in the same area, though there had been at least one lumbering of
the area between the collections. The number of Yonahlossee salamanders was nearly
identical in the two collections.

3. Life History Features.

A. Breeding.
Reproduction is terrestrial. Spermatogenesis likely occurs after emergence from
hibernation. A spermatogenic wave in the anterior third of the testes was found in
a specimen collected on 25 May. Courtship probably occurs in early August, as at
this time pairs of salamanders have been found under a single small cover object and
males have conspicuous mental glands (Pope, 1950).

i. Breeding migrations. Undocumented, but breeding migrations are not known for
any Plethodon species.

ii. Breeding habitat. Unknown.

B. Eggs.
Females probably begin to lay their eggs in late August. Advanced ova were found in
three females collected between 11–16 August at Whitetop Mountain and Comer’s
Rock, Virginia (Pope, 1950).

i. Egg deposition sites. Unknown, but likely to be in underground cavities.

ii. Parental care. Unknown, but it is likely that females brood, as with other
species of Plethodon.

D. Juvenile
Habitat. Juveniles have been collected in the same areas as adults (Pope, 1950;
D.A.B., personal observations). Both juveniles and adults emerge from burrows at
night to forage. Juveniles are most active for about 1 hr after sunset, while adult
activity peaks 1 or 2 hr later (Gordon et al., 1962).

E. Adult
Habitat. Yonahlossee salamanders have been recorded from both virgin and
second-growth forest (Dunn, 1917a; Gordon et al., 1962). Bailey (1937) reports
finding Yonahlossee salamanders common in a rock-filled ravine near Swannanoa, Buncombe
County, North Carolina.

In the Iron
Mountains, Johnson County, Tennessee, Yonahlossee salamanders have been found in a
variety of habitats. Here they have been collected on bare, rock-covered road
embankments exposed to the sun, in a talus slope, in deciduous forest, near a wet weather
spring, and in an open pasture (Pope, 1950).

In Rutherford
County, North Carolina, Yonahlossee salamanders are commonly found in deep crevices of
metamorphic rock (Adler and Dennis, 1962; Rubin, 1969). Rock crevices are also
occasionally occupied in Avery County and Watuga County, North Carolina (Adler and
Dennis, 1962; Guttman et al., 1978).

Dunn (1926) reports
that they create long burrows in the forest floor, with openings usually under a fallen
log or piece of bark (Bishop, 1943; Martof et al., 1980). However, Pope (1950)
suggests that Yonahlossee salamanders do not excavate burrows but may reopen partly
obliterated passages.

Petranka (1998)
challenged Hairston's (1949) claims that Yonahlossee salamanders in the Black Mountains
of North Carolina are generally found within 30 m of streams and are most common in old
growth forests.

Yonahlossee
salamanders are often found in and under rotting logs, under bark on the ground or still
on its log, and under stones. Preferred niches are old windfalls that have shed
most of their bark and logs > 25 cm (10 in) in diameter, with not more than 5–15
cm (1–3 in) of the log below the surface and a thick layer of leaf accumulation at
the log–ground interface (Dunn, 1926; Pope, 1950; Gordon et al., 1962).

F. Home Range
Size. Unknown, but small home ranges are typical for Plethodon species.

The following
species were found on a cliff face with Yonahlossee salamanders in Rutherford County,
North Carolina: green salamanders (Aneidesaeneus), Blue Ridge
gray-cheeked salamanders (P. amplus), white-spotted slimy salamanders,
and Ocoee salamanders (Desmognathusocoee; Adler and Dennis, 1962;
Rubin, 1969).

Yonahlossee
salamanders are sympatric with white-spotted slimy salamanders at intermediate elevations
throughout much of the Blue Ridge Province east of the French Broad River. There is
no evidence of hybridization between these species (Highton and Peabody, 2000).

Yonahlossee
salamanders are sympatric with northern slimy salamanders (P.
glutinosus) only in the vicinity of Skulls Gap, Smyth County, Virginia. A
probable F1 hybrid was found at this location (Highton and Peabody, 2000).

Yonahlossee
salamanders are widely sympatric throughout the range of Blue Ridge gray-cheeked
salamanders (P. amplus). There is no evidence of hybridization
between these species (Highton and Peabody, 2000).

Yonahlossee
salamanders are widely sympatric with northern gray-cheeked salamanders (P.
montanus) at the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge isolate. There is no
evidence of hybridization (Highton and Peabody, 2000).

Yonahlossee
salamanders tend to be much more altitudinally restricted than any of these associated
species. A comparison between Yonahlossee salamanders and white-spotted slimy
salamanders suggests a large degree of dietary overlap, although there is no evidence to
suggest that competitive exclusion occurs (Pope, 1950).

L. Age/Size at
Reproductive Maturity. Cloacal gland papillae and mental glands are evident in
males at approximately 56 mm SVL. It is likely that these salamanders are
mature. A 60-mm female appeared to be mature, though a 66-mm female was
immature. Maturity in females is likely reached somewhere around 60–66 mm
SVL. Sexual maturity in Yonahlossee salamanders probably occurs when they are
almost 3 yr old (Pope, 1950).

A cliff-dwelling
population of Yonahlossee salamanders from Rutherford County, North Carolina, apparently
does not mature until a large size. Males do not mature until they are > 65 mm
and females do not mature until they are > 61 mm (Adler and Dennis, 1962).

Food items from 50
Yonahlossee salamanders collected in the Iron Mountains included Collembola, Isoptera,
lepidopteran larvae, dipteran larvae, coleopteran adults and larvae, Chelonethida,
Araneida, Acarina, Diplopoda, Chilopoda, Isopoda, and Pulmonata. These specimens
were kept alive for 1–3 d after capture, so it is possible soft-bodied prey that
are digested more rapidly were absent. A female (77 mm SVL) from this series had
eaten 15 invertebrates (Pope, 1950).

Rankin (1937)
reported centipedes, ants, and beetles from the stomachs of three specimens. In
captivity, a Yonahlossee salamander ate a small member of Plethodonjordani complex (Thurow, 1976).

O. Predators.
Undocumented, but likely to include forest snakes, birds, and small mammals.

P. Anti-Predator
Mechanisms. Yonahlossee salamanders produce tail secretions that are noxious to
birds and other potential predators (Petranka, 1998). Yonahlossee salamanders
frequently become immobile when initially contacted. Immobility may increase
survival by making the salamander less likely to be detected, especially by visually
oriented predators (Dodd, 1989).

Yonahlossee
salamanders from a cliff-face population in Rutherford County, North Carolina, were
infected with dermal mites (Hannemaniahegeneri; Adler and Dennis,
1962).

4. Conservation. Yonahlossee salamanders are not protected in any of the states
within their range. While relatively wide ranging, Yonahlossee salamanders are
usually found from intermediate to high elevations. Suitable habitat at these
elevations may be separated by stretches of lower uninhabited areas, and populations are
often separated. Within this range, there are many federal and state properties
that contain suitable habitat for these salamanders.

As with all species
of Plethodon, Yonahlossee salamanders do not migrate to breeding grounds and
they do not have large home ranges. Thus, they can exist in habitats of smaller
size than many other amphibian species. Conservation activities that promote mature
closed-canopy forests should benefit this species.

Acknowledgments. Thanks to Richard Highton, who reviewed this account and
gave us the benefit of his insight and experience.